


sway with me

by seimaisin



Series: The Fairest Lily [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: F/M, Named Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Pining, Post-Patch 5.0: Shadowbringers, Slow Dancing, Unrequited Love, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:53:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26258977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seimaisin/pseuds/seimaisin
Summary: Set sometime vaguely after the end of 5.0.But, she thinks, when you've traveled to a totally different world to save it from a terrible magic, perhaps the daydreams of childhood are worth revisiting.See the end for notes.
Relationships: Warrior of Light/Thancred Waters
Series: The Fairest Lily [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1909072
Comments: 3
Kudos: 15
Collections: Emet-Selch's Wholesomely Debauched Bookclub FFXIV-Writes 2020 Collection





	sway with me

A trio of musicians hold a spontaneous concert in the Wandering Stairs this night - it's part of a sense of carefree glee Lily hadn't thought the residents of the Crystarium entirely capable of, before the last of the sin eaters were dispatched. But night has returned to Norvrandt in its entirety, and its people are still occasionally drunk on their joy. As they have every right to be. 

For her part, Lily stays in her seat in the back of the room, having idle conversations with those who wander past, but mostly enjoying the chance to sit back and watch the crowd. Or, to be specific, to watch her friends in the crowd. Alisaie and Gaia are sitting on the bar - not at it, but on top of it - arguing with each other, while Ryne (more sensibly perched on a stool) alternately mediates the argument and laughs at them. Y'shtola and Urianger are sitting with Moren, and all three are gesturing in a way that tells of a lively conversation, likely about history or literature or some other esoteric pursuit. Alphinaud is sitting close to the music, using the pauses between songs to have some discussion with the Mystel playing the lute. And Thancred … 

Well. Thancred. She'd say she isn't watching him in particular, but she'd be lying, and she tries very hard not to lie to herself.

He's been making his way through the room, chatting and laughing with a variety of people. His ease is a reminder that he's been here longer than any of them, long enough to establish relationships, to feel at least vaguely at home here. Though, Lily notes with a bit of amusement, he hasn't established as many relationships as some might like - at least three different women approach him while she's watching, obviously asking him to join the dancing that has sprung up near the musicians, but he waves each of them away with a practiced, apologetic smile. Come to think of it, she hasn't seen him in anyone's company since arriving here in the First. That's … well, that's interesting, and not at all worth the slight jump her pulse makes at the thought. 

She looks away to see Lyna arriving, without the Exarch; clearly she was unsuccessful in luring him away from his research for the night. But when she turns back toward the room, she's surprised to see Thancred making his way over to her. "Reached the end of your socializing list, have you?" she says with a grin.

"Saved the best for last," he counters. "Why are you back here by yourself?"

She shrugs. "Just felt like watching tonight, that's all. It's nice." 

"Fair enough." He spins a chair around and straddles it backward. The way he's leaning gives Lily the chance to admire his forearms, exposed beneath rolled-up sleeves - and just the fact that she is, in fact, admiring him right now, with his attention actually on her, means she's off her game in a way that she hadn't realized. When she focuses back on his face, there's a small, soft smile there that makes something in her chest tighten. "You look tired," he says.

"Well now, there's the charm I expect from you."

"Gorgeous, but tired." When she rolls her eyes, he shakes his head, still smiling. "You work too hard, as usual."

"I'm sure there's a kettle around here somewhere to introduce you to, Mr. Pot. I heard Ryne trying to guilt you into a nap yesterday."

"Which I took," he points out. "Mostly so she'd do the same, but … I guess that's what family's for, right?" 

"So I've heard." 

Thancred seems to search her face for a moment, before abruptly standing up and holding out a hand. "Come on. Let's dance."

Lily blinks. The musicians have begun a slow, quiet song, the kind that signals the end of the evening is fast approaching. She can see several pairs already on the makeshift dance floor swaying together, some casually, some with the kind of embrace that is sure to continue behind closed doors later. She looks back at Thancred, eyebrows furrowed. "Really?"

"Yes, really. Come on, just one."

For just a moment, Lily thinks of a moment - a small room, long ago, when she was small and lonely and daydreamed the hours away - and can nearly feel herself whirling around the room with an invisible partner. She's not had much chance to dance with a partner in the years since. Too many things to accomplish, too few potential partners. It's always felt like the sort of dream one is meant to put away with their childhood, to be honest. But, she thinks, when you've traveled to a totally different world to save it from a terrible magic, perhaps the daydreams of childhood are worth revisiting.

She smiles. "Okay." 

Thancred pulls her to her feet and leads her to the edge of the dancers, before wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her close. There was a time, not long ago, when her very much not childish physical reaction to the contact would have angered her - made her feel like she was a fool, taken in by some false flattery or ridiculous roguish charm. But the man who holds her now is an altogether different one than she met when she joined the Scions. He may not return her attraction any more than he did back then, but now … now she doesn't entirely mind the fact that he makes her heart flutter a bit. She slips her arms around his neck and lets him set the pace; a slow rhythmic sway that really only barely qualifies as dancing. But it's a good excuse to practice a little self-indulgence, which she tells herself she deserves from time to time.

To ground herself in a more realistic state of mind, she looks up at him and gives a sharp grin. "I'm surprised, this seems to be your first dance of the night."

He looks momentarily surprised, but then comes back with, "So you were paying attention, hmmm?"

"I was watching everyone," she says, and it doesn't quite feel like a lie. An omission, maybe, or an exaggeration. "It's nice to see everyone having a good time."

"It is," he agrees. He glances away briefly, to where Ryne is sitting, Lily knows. But when he looks back down, his smile is sly. "But unfortunately, none of the invitations I've gotten tonight have appealed to me."

"Who are you, and what have you done with Thancred?"

"I don't know," he sighs. "I suspect it's adulthood, more's the pity."

"Don't worry, I may call you many things, but 'adult' will never be one of them."

"Thank the Twelve someone still appreciates me." 

She lets out an altogether undignified giggle when he winks at her. "See, now there you are. That's the man who's left a trail of broken hearts lining the streets of Ul'dah." 

Thancred's expression becomes serious for the slightest moment, brief enough that Lily almost thinks she imagined it. But she blinks, and he's back wearing the grin. "I'll need to find new horizons when we're home, I'm not sure it's safe for me to show my face at the Quicksand yet."

There's a retort on the tip of her tongue - something about the consequences of playing with a woman's heart - but the words seem to burn when weighed against the too-fast beat of her own heart, and she swallows them. "The Rising Stones still seems safe," she says instead.

His smile turns wistful. "I miss it."

"It misses you. Or, at least, the folks inside of it do."

"That's nice to hear." His voice is quiet, full of an emotion that neither of them really know how to define, she's pretty sure. There's so much waiting for him at home, but so much he'll have to leave behind. So much he'll have to let go.

Lily doesn't answer; there's no proper answer to be given right now. Instead, she leans forward and lets her head rest against his shoulder. His arms tighten around her. Here, with the music a distant sound, she feels warm. She feels safe. She feels … right.

Just for this moment, she closes her eyes and lets herself pretend that this is a dance that will lead somewhere.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you as always to blindvogel for always being my partner in crime in all things sappy and shippy and fannish. And many, many thanks to [Emet-Selch's book club](https://discord.gg/enabling-debauched-xivfic) for finally giving me the inspiration to write again. It feels good.
> 
> This piece is a part of the [FFXIV Write](https://ffxiv-write.carrd.co/) challenge, thank you to Moen Moen for what is turning out to be an amazing event!


End file.
